Interact! 6-Week Technology Course for Language Teachers

A six-week course, designed specifically for language teachers, which will give you the confidence and practical experience you need to start using technology creatively with your learners. Plus, every summer we offer a special “blended” version of the course, which means that you’ll have a chance to study both online and face-to-face in a classroom.

Why Use Technology?

Learning languages using a computer has changed radically in the last few years. Nowadays your English students can communicate with classes from the UK, USA, or Australia, your Spanish students with their peers in South America, or Barcelona and so on. In just a few lessons your students can meet, get to know and interact with real students from around the world. Of course, this gives them an opportunity to really practice their second language skills in a practical setting.

Classroom tools like Interactive White Boards (IWBs) also allow teachers to quickly and easily bring multimedia, games, and Internet-based activities into the class,safely and under their full control.

Which Technologies?

We have taken the hard work out of choosing which of the many new apps, websites, gadgets you should try out with your students. Our course is based on tried and tested lesson plans, this means you can be confident in the methodology you’re learning, as well as being sure that the technology is not out of date. Everything you learn will be directly related to teaching languages, so that you can try it out straight away with your own students.

What’s in the Course?

The online course has been arranged into six modules, to allow you to study, as much as possible, at your own pace. During the intensive six-week course, you will be closely followed by our expert tutor(s), who will give you feedback on the work you are producing and will help you to implement the ideas you study for real with your students. There will be lots of opportunities to talk together with language-teaching colleagues in similar situations to your own to share ideas, hints & tips.

Week 3 – Interactive White Boards (IWBs) – Activities, games, lessons and key programs for teachers with IWBs in their classes (and ideas for using the technology for teachers without!)

Week 4 – E-Twinning and Skype – How to setup e-twinning and activities for these projects. Ways of setting up and using video conferencing tools (like Skype) with larger and smaller groups of students.

Week 5 – Digital Literacies including RSS – New and emerging key technologies useful for teachers. A non-pedagogical module, but essential knowledge to stay “ahead of the curve.”

Week 6 – PLNs and MOOCs – Personal Learning Networks are all about discovering and joining networks of like-minded teachers, exchanges of knowledge and information, lesson-plan sharing and often much more. Ways of building and nurturing your own PLN. We’ll also look at how to continue your professional and personal development after the course by joining a Massive Open Online Course.

How Much does It Cost?

We pride ourselves on high-quality teacher-training, with well-planned, materials and a trainer(s) who will follow you all the way through the face-to-face and tutor-led sections of the course. At the same time, we’re aware that worldwide, teachers are not paid enough. For this reason, we have worked hard to keep our price under €400.00, so that as many teachers as possible can afford to join us.

The high-energy, great fun face-to-face seminar will give us heaps of ideas, activities, websites and other information to really get our brains buzzing about new technologies.If you work in, or manage a school where several teachers would like to do a blended course, contact us for a quote. We can come to your school for the face-to-face seminar if 5 or more teachers join a course. Alternatively, for 3 or more teachers we can arrange a discount.

How do I Join The Course?

Just go to our Sign Up Now! page, complete the details, and we’ll get right back to you letting you know when the course is starting, how to make your payment and all the other details you’ll need. Alternatively, if you’re not ready yet to start a course, get in touch with us here to find out more information about our courses.

* = this three hour face-to-face seminar will take place at a school in Trento. Face-to-Face Seminars available in other location by request. Minimum numbers apply. There may be a space between weeks 2, 3 & 4 to allow for organisation of the face to face sessions.